WWYDW(TE): How should the Oilers develop Evan Bouchard?

Let me back up for a second. The NHL and CHL have an incredibly flawed deal worked out that keeps Major Junior players from playing professionally in either the AHL or ECHL before they either turn 20 years old or have played four seasons in the CHL.

Bouchard is a perfect example of why this rule is unfair to players. The Oilers’ first-round pick has a late birthday, so he’s already played three seasons in junior and he’s more than likely learned everything he can at that level. He scored 87 points in 67 games, led a London Knights team that sold many assets at the trade deadline to the playoffs, and ranked tops in the OHL in both points and shots among defenders.

That said, the NHL isn’t really a place for a 19-year-old defenceman and the Oilers could risk ruining his confidence if they threw him in the deep end at this stage in his career. Bouchard is the exact type of player who would be best suited in the AHL in his post-draft season.

Unfortunately, that isn’t a possibility. I can empathize with why the rule exists. The goal, ultimately, is to keep CHL talent around for as long as possible. CHL teams make major investments in drafting and developing teenagers and if they could all leave immediately after being drafted to fill the AHL and ECHL many of these teams would become devoid of talent. Still, it would be ideal if NHL teams could work out some kind of deal where a team like London was paid a compensation for the Oilers to put Bouchard in the AHL, given that he’s a somewhat unique case.

London Knights camp started on Monday. Bouchard wasn’t there. He’ll be attending Oilers camp in a few weeks with a genuine shot of cracking the roster.

That brings us to this week’s What Would You Do Wednesday THURSDAY EDITION qestion. How would you handle Bouchard’s development? Do the Oilers need to take it slow with this prospect? Or has he showed enough at the OHL level already?

When Bouchard was drafted, it was said he was the next-most NHL-ready defender in the class. Obviously, No. 1 overall pick Rasmus Dahlin was the most NHL ready player in the draft, but Bouchard was the next name on the list, despite the fact he was selected at No. 10.

“Elite hockey sense, elite passer,” said one scout. “He can make any pass and he always seems to do it at the right place and the right time. Has the best chance after Andrei Svechnikov to go straight to the NHL next year (among OHLers).”

There’s no doubt that the Oilers could use Bouchard, too. Even when Andrej Sekera was healthy, the blueline lacked a right-handed defender who could create offence. This is a big year for the team coming off of an incredibly disappointing 2017-18 season. But should the fact this year is important to push the team into rushing a player when it may not be the best thing for his long-term development?

Jesse Puljujarvi, though obviously a very different player in a very different situation, came over as an 18-year-old, and it appears now that probably wasn’t the right decision. The organization seemed to learn its lesson with Kailer Yamamoto, who spent just nine games with the team before going back to the WHL last year.

What about Bouchard? Do you throw him in the deep end or take your time? Personally, I’m a big fan of the nine-game cup of coffee. It gives the player an understanding of what to work on in a setting where they can actually focus on specifics of their game without pressure.

In my interview with Evan we talk about what a great situation it is in London and it’s important to keep that in mind if he is indeed sent back. He will still be playing with elite players and the coaching staff will do a great job of putting him in challenging situations to help develop his skill set further. It would not surprise me in the least if he actually got less points in the OHL in 2018-19 while focusing more on the defensive side of his game. You might wonder what more he could possibly do after putting up 87 points last season but it’s important to remember that when he does make the NHL he will be expected to take care of his own end first and he still needs work in that area. Expecting him to get spoonfed strictly Powerplay minutes in Edmonton while playing sheltered minutes on the 3rd pair is not really going to help his defensive game and the NHL is not a developmental league. It is a big year for Peter Chiarelli and Todd McLellan in terms of job stability so I find it highly unlikely they pin their hopes to a 19 yr old rookie.

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91 Comments |

Its really odd that so many thing the Oilers will rush this d-man to the NHL based on their history as the Oilers have not kept a newly drafted CHL d-man in the NHL for longer than a few games since Paul Coffey.

Precisely this. When you look at the (woefully small) list of drafted d-men who have been developed under the Oilers’ system, they were all given a chance to move up the ranks until they either made it, or washed out.

Here’s a thought. Why don’t we wait and watch what he does in training camp before we decide what’s best for the kids future?? Lol oilersnations experts know what’s best tho. Imo opinion if he makes the team, he will be the teams best dman by a mile. Oilersnations favorite klefbom will be hurt for half the year and oilersnation will make excuses for him all year. Nurse and Bouchard will be an excellent top pairing

This kid may have the offensive side of his game ready, but defensively his game needs lots of work. You need to be NHL ready when you are in the big leagues, then you have the confidence to play and develop. He needs a year back in junior to work on many aspects of his defensive game and then time in the AHL. The oilers are not winning the cup in the next 3 years, they may be a playoff team but not contenders. Making sure that every player on their roster is NHL ready is the only way they become a contender. Time to start using the brain and be smart about these things. Stop writing the same article over and over in hopes you can change their minds.

Physical maturity and an above scale acumen for the game can carry a kid a long way, in spite of his noted lack of NHL experience. On a squad where the D is more suspect than defined I give him even odds to make the team. What you will see is that he is no worse than Ethan Bear and the other young ones, already. I suspect he will show well in camp and the preseason. AND THEN the most Oiler thing ever would be to keep Bouchard and trade Nurse. The gossip grannies can have their moment in the sun discussing the rift between Nurse and Drai and all things proceed in that oh so familiar Oilers way.
What does the culture club, aka, the red wine summit gang think…. I wonder.

So is our defence going to be Larsson and Klefbom (a legit top pairing guy and a guy who disappoints every year but one so far), Nurse if we can sign him and freaking Benning (a legit second pairing guy and a guy that scares me whenever he’s on the ice who is in no way ready for second pairing), and then Russell and one of Kevin Gravel, Jason Garrison, or Jekab Jerabek (I actually like Russell but having one of those other guys in your top 6 is BRUTAL).

And people don’t think the most likely scenario is that Bouchard is better than any of Gravel/Garrison/Jerabek?

Technically we could as we could place Reggie on LTIR prior the season starting, however, given the amount of LTIR cushion a team has is calculated on the day that player is placed on LTIR, doing so would reduce the amount of the cushion we would get (i.e. it would cut down on our LTIR cap space by a few million).

I’m a fan of prospects over-ripening in juniors and the AHL before being called upon by the big league. Meaning, I would like to see Bouchard go back to the OHL (maybe play for the World Juniors) for another year.

I mean, if this kid is one of the best defenceman in camp compared to the current roster defencemen, why not let him stay. However, I am hoping that the defencemen we do have that are healthy will make sure to push Bouchard back to the OHL.